Friday, September 23, 2011

What the fish?

This is just a quickie post a random lucky find.  I haven't personally see this at any other location so it was definitely a new experience for me.  Honestly I was heading to Ghazele in the Annex when I noticed Ali Baba is now in the space where Yummy BBQ use to occupy (right next to Guu Sakabar).



My eyes immediately spotted something that was out of place.  "Choice of Chicken, Beef, Falalfel or Fish.  Back up a second there; Fish?  Where is the lamb?  That got my attention so I jaywalked over to see what it would be like to have a fish shawarma.

It looked like a regular sized wrap which was good since I didn't want to be too full.  Whenever I have a shawarma it is usually the protein that is the most predominate flavor even with the yogurt and hot sauce.  This time there was a light and harmonious balance of flavors.  Apparently the cook didn't add either dressing which was a good call. Reaching the filling, the tabouleh and vegetables transforms into a wonderful relish for the fish.  The lemony zing added nice sharpness to contrast that works perfectly with the fish.  As for the fish itself was just poaching in it's own liquid on a steam table.  I can't really comment on how it was cooked however the fish was moist and tasty inside.



The beef shawarma was about as normal as another regular place so there isn't much to say about it.



Friday, September 2, 2011

Urban Eatery (Update)

Since it's the beginning of the new month I figured it was a great way to start taking advantage of my metropass and head down to the Eaton Centre.  The Urban Eatery as it is called is the new food court at the north end of the mall.  It has been estimated that $120 million dollars was spent on revitalizing what is the heart of the downtown core.  From the moment you ride down the escalators, one would see restaurants and seating as far as the opposite end of the level.  There are no shops at the bottom level except for SportsChek.  This is about half the new area and the right side would have been the Gap store from the old layout.  Offerings here include your usual mall fast food suspects but there is a large asian influence. 









I thought these places really stood out from their designs to attract the eyes.






It's not just the shops that got renovated but there is much more seating and elbow room.  Just take a look at some of this pictures to see the vast open seating areas to understand how spacious it has become.






 As an opening promotions, $10 vouchers were given to those who have pre-registered for this event.  Sadly, it wasn't me.  I would have loved to try Amaya Express out off all the places there.


 This update also kept in mind the impact this would have on the environment and I give them a lot of credit for such a great idea.  All the food now are served on reusable plastic tableware.



Other things worth mentioning there were some of the menu items, some are surprising and others are just baffling.  The golden arches serving mini cheesecakes and if someone ever has a craving for one (1) shanghai soup dumpling from Szechuan then you can get them here...  really... one... I'm not kidding.  How can you just have one? :)



Of course I couldn't leave without getting something.  Since I was heading to the gym it couldn't be something big.  It's great they have some dessert places and I went straight for gelato at Froshberg.  After sampling a few flavors I decided on dark chocolate and mango.  This is one of my favorite pairings and both flavors are rarely seen together.  The dark chocolate had a nice rich lustre and the flavour had still retain a slight bitterness from what I gather would be like eating a 70% cocoa chocolate bar.  This mango flavour was a lot lighter in fare and taste.  It tasted like a fresh mango and not a ripe sweeter mango that would have worked better with the chocolate.  My disappointment was evident when I saw some empty gaps on both sides of my gelato cup.




It looks like both gyms in the area is going to get a lot more business in the coming months especially now the weather is cooling down! lol


Update:

I was in such a rush  in posting this I forgot to mention that the food court in the south side has been closed off along with the McDonalds and the Sportschek.  The seating is still there for the Richtree / Marche customers.